which Linux?

Richard Gaskin ambassador at fourthworld.com
Tue Jul 3 21:12:19 EDT 2012


Bob Sneidar wrote:

 > And can I say, after over 20 years of IT experience that
 > the unix/linux file permissions are as inane a thing as
 > I think I have ever seen?
 >
 > Really? They want end users to have to edit the permissions
 > for all the files they create?? In a TERMINAL??? Really?????

True, Mac and Linux permissions can be the source of problems (note how 
many times Repair Permissions is raised in the Apple support forums).

But like Mac, most normal operations on Linux don't require setting 
permissions.

As with Mac, developers moving applications across platforms will often 
find that the executable bit isn't set, and to set that you may need to 
use Terminal.

Unlike Mac, doing that on Linux is a bit more straightforward, since you 
just work on the application file as you see it, without having to dig 
deeper into the app bundle.

And like all platforms, the best experience with an OS comes when you 
buy a machine with the OS preinstalled and ready to go.

If you've ever tried setting up a OS X on a non-Mac you know how hard it 
can be.

Even setting up Windows from a stock disk rather than the restore disk 
designed specifically for the specific machine you're using at the 
moment can be a hellish nightmare of hunting down and installing drivers.

Since relatively few computers come with Linux pre-installed, Linux does 
a far better job than others at running on machines not specifically 
designed for it.

And if you want a truly great experience with Linux pre-installed, these 
links are good places to start:

<http://zareason.com>
<http://www.system76.com/>
<http://linucity.com>

These machines often ship with an OS other than Linux, but have been 
certified by Canonical to run Ubuntu:
<http://www.ubuntu.com/certification/desktop/>


--
  Richard Gaskin
  Fourth World
  LiveCode training and consulting: http://www.fourthworld.com
  Webzine for LiveCode developers: http://www.LiveCodeJournal.com
  Follow me on Twitter:  http://twitter.com/FourthWorldSys




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